Programme Objectives

The Master in Economics trains students to become applied economists, policymakers, consultants and business professionals in sectors and jobs requiring technical and analytical skills. It provides them with up-to-date quantitative and conceptual tools for economic, statistical and financial analysis, and it prepares them for policy and business practice. The programme has a strong European flavour which manifests itself in specialized courses (such as European competition policy) or in the careful consideration, in other courses, of the specifics of the European dimension.

The Master in “Economic Analysis and European Policy” covers the full range of economic issues (employment, competition, growth, development, redistribution etc.) and policy-making challenges, from the sector- or industry-level to the national economy and the world.

The programme consists of compulsory core courses and optional courses, and require the writing of a master thesis.

Four specialization tracks are available :

Europe and the World,

Innovation and Markets,

Socio-economic Policy.

Placement

Our graduates typically find work as applied economists, policymakers, consultants and business professionals in sectors and jobs requiring advanced knowledge of how the economy works and strong technical and analytical skills, including:

Executive, analyst or project manager in national and international public or private organizations, including NGOs

The Faculty

A multidisciplinary high-quality education

The "Solvay School" was founded in 1903 by the businessman Ernest Solvay and, since then, has been training men and women to be able to decide, participate, analyze and manage. In September 2010, the merger between the Solvay Business School and the Economics departments led to the creation of an independent Faculty, the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (SBS-EM). The Faculty has over 2800 students in its bachelor and master programmes. Nearly 400 business engineers, managers and economists graduate each year. In order to match the needs of economic and financial markets, the SBS-EM also provides two Complementary Masters (in microfinance and management), one MBA (Master in business administration), several Executive Education programmes, custom-made training for companies and PhD training in economics and management. The SBS-EM is internationally recognized and accredited by EQUIS and AMBA, the main international accreditations of quality control for management in higher education.

A perfect method: rigour and international mobility

The educational methods that had already been put forward by Ernest Solvay, have made the reputation of the Solvay Brussels School. The quality of the education is based on a demanding system that combines theory and practice. Students will therefore benefit from in-depth scientific courses, rigorous education in economics and management, many opportunities for mobility in the context of the international exchange programme - the school has more than one hundred partners worldwide - and the active learning of languages. The curriculum is aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship, analytical ability, decision making, the ability to work as a team and openness to the world.

The diversity of the Faculty’s professors ensures the provision of a high-quality education, close to the business world and to international institutions. Our team of professors includes prestigious academic researchers as well as experienced leaders from the professional world. In addition, the SBS-EM has created teaching and research chairs, financed by corporate sponsorship and private donors. In view of this, students have the opportunity to follow classes taught by both experienced lecturers and the holders of research chairs, who specialize in specific fields and are internationally renowned.

Course programmes at the cutting edge

Course programmes are constantly revised and adapted to reflect the ongoing development of the fields of economics and management, and utilize methods such as cases studies, seminars and group work. This cohesion in terms of methodology optimizes interaction between students and professors.

The Careers Service: workshops and jobs

The careers service, which is jointly organized by the Cercle Solvay (student association) and the Bureau Etudiant (students’ office), provides “job days” (careers fairs), conferences, a careers book, training (e.g. on “How to write a CV”), etc. in order to ease access to the professional world for students during the third year of the bachelor’s degree and both years of the master’s degree. Internships are also offered on our intranet website. We encourage students to do an internship which would allow them to better determine their professional goals and acquire work experience, which is obviously an asset regarding the employment process. The Faculty provides the internship agreement.

Conditions for acceptance

The conditions for acceptance can be consulted in the ULB course catalogue. If your profile does not fit one of these conditions match these conditions, you can apply by completing an application file (more information below). Please find the admission requirements by master programme.

Registration and costs

Registration is organized by the ULB. For more information, please visit this web site . The procedure is available in French for the programmes taught in both languages (Business Engineering ; Economic Analysis & European Policy) ; in English for the programmes fully Management Science, Business Economics and Research Track. Please find the opening hours of the registration department.

Please fin information on tuition fees. The complementary tuition fees (non-EU citizens) are available here. The estimated cost of living is available on this page.

2016-2017 Registration calendar

Application file (conditional access)Registration for non-EU students will open in the vicinity of February 2016. Registration for EU-students will open in the vicinity of April 2016.Registration for Belgian, resident or assimilated students will open in the vicinity of April 2016.

Registration file (unconditional access) will open in the vicinity of June 2016.

Application file

The procedure and other information such as deadlines, tuition fees, etc. is also on the website of ULB. Please submit your application file by completing the online form. First, you are required to create your personal account (key and password), after which you can track the progress of your file. Then, you will be able to download the application form.

Admission will be based on this file. Please find the required documents. The file will be examined by the Admissions committee whether or not to admit you, and if necessary, decide on any conditions you may need to fulfil in order to be accepted. The commission will decide whether your qualifications are sufficient for you to cope with the course.. There are 3 (or 4) possibilities: admission, admission subject to you following extra courses (maximum 15 ECTS), refusal or admission onto a preliminary year of foundation courses (only for the Master’s in Economics). You may only apply once per academic year.

It is impossible to receive a preliminary opinion. The only option is to complete the application file and receive an official answer. The response time is about 6 weeks.

If you have a problem with the registration procedure or if you have already completed your application file, please contact the admissions department : admissions [at] ulb [dot] ac [dot] be.

Visiting the ULB & Info Sessions

2013-2014 academic year and 2015-2016 welcoming of new students

The welcome day for new students takes place on September 11, 2015. Classes begin on September 14, 2015.

Specific cases

If you would like to the register for the first year of the Bachelor’s degree and you do not have a Belgian high school diploma, you need to get an ‘equivalence’ delivered by the “Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles”. Please find more information. It is also possible to take an entrance exam.

If you do not come from the European Union and your profile does not suit to an assimilation criteria, you can no longer apply for the academic year 2015-2016. The registration procedure for the 2016-2017 school year will, as a rule,be available around February 2016. Please find all registration deadlines.

If you want to apply beyond the first year of the bachelor (second or third year), you need to have passed at least 45 credits of college education and fill in an application file. Please find admission requirements by programme.

If you want to apply for an undergraduate Master’s programme, you need to have passed at least 3 years of college education (180 credits). There is no enrollment in the second year of a master (120 credits).

If you want to obtain a course exemption, you can apply to the student secretariatas soon as you have registered.

Interested in a postgraduate programme/other programme offered as an evening course?

Job Opportunities

Renowned Alumni

Former SBS-EM students have gone on to excel in various industries, sectors and professions, including the following:

Mathias Dewatripont

National Bank Of Belgium

Director

Dominique Leroy

Belgacom

Chief Executive Officer

Gilles Samyn

Groupe Frère-Bourgeois

Managing director

Solvay Alumni

Chairman

Françoise Thys-Clément

Fondation Bernheim

President

ULB

Honorary Rector

Nicolas Steisel

Exki

Co-founder

Manager of the year

2009

Trends-Tendances

Jean-Paul Philippot

RTBF

CEO

Marianne Bertrand

Booth School of Business University of Chicago

Chris P. Dialynas Professor of Economics

Neubauer Family Faculty Fellow

Peter Praet

European Central Bank

Member of the Executive Board

International Programme

With globalisation now a reality, SBS-EM considers the opportunity to live and study abroad as being fundamental for students. With more than 110 partners worldwide, this programme is a great occasion to gain experience of new educational methods, to adapt to a different teaching system and to study particular subjects provided by our partner universities. It also offers the chance to deepen their language knowledge, discover the world, new cultures and different ways of life. By having to adapt to an unfamiliar environment, the student will expand his/her horizons, and further develop values such as tolerance and intellectual curiosity. Living and studying abroad is the best way for students to prepare themselves for a professional life in an international environment.

International Exchange Programme (IEP)

Since 1990, the IEP has grown to become one of the most important components of the School. Exchange agreements have been signed with more than 110 universities and business schools in 40 countries. More information on www.solvay.edu/outgoing-students.

The QTEM networked master

The Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management Master was launched under the initiative of SBS-EM. It consists of a unique learning experience by providing participants with background in quantitative and analytical skills and techniques applied to management or economics, a strong international exposure (2 exchanges) and a strong immersion in the reality of industry through a company internship. The network is growing, there are now 12 partners. More information on www.qtem.org.

Double Degrees

SBS-EM offers several double degrees (1st year at ULB, 2nd year at the partner institution) :

- in Management Sciences with Beihang University ; More information on www.solvay.edu/double-degrees. - in Business Engineering with Politecnico di Milano ;- in Economic Analysis & European Policy with LUISS Guido Carli ;- in Research Track in the framework of ENTER network (www.enter-network.org).

Credited Internship (25 ECTS)

SBS-EM offers the opportunity to participate in a full-time internship, for duration of minimum 12 weeks maximum 6 months, abroad (or in Belgium). By participating in this programme students will be able to improve their professional skills, examine the academic learning in real work and build their professional network. More information on www.solvay.edu/credited-internship-programme.

Contact

The international exchange programmeWith globalization now a reality, the SBS-EM considers the opportunity to live and study abroad as being fundamental for students. With more than a hundred partners worldwide, this programme is a great occasion to gain experience of new educational methods, to adapt to a different teaching system and to study particular subjects provided by our partner universities. It also offers the chance to deepen their language knowledge, discover the world, new cultures and different ways of life. By having to adapt to an unfamiliar environment, the student will expand his/her horizons, and further develop values such as tolerance and intellectual curiosity.The list of partners is becoming larger every year. For the coming academic years, we are proud to announce exchanges with several new partners: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Kyung Hee University (Korea), ESC Dijon (France), and the Technological Educational Institute of Patras (Greece).